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Lesson Planning Sheet Title: Rounding to a significant figure Learning Objectives: By the end of the lesson: All students should be able to round a positive number, greater than one to one significant figure. Most students should be able to round any number to one or more significant figures. Some students should be able to calculate the limits of accuracy when a number has been rounded to a significant figure. Keywords: Significant figure, round, approximate, round up, round down Learning Activities Starter/Introduction Students consider estimating values by using the typical height of a man as 6 foot or 1.8 metres to determine the likely height and width of a house. To extend on this students could approximate the cross sectional area of the house. Answers could be presented on mini-whiteboards for assessment and feedback. Development Discuss the meaning of the term significant. Students should associate the term with importance. Pose the question which digit in 16.7 is of most importance or most significant? Ideally, students to reach the conclusion that the digit one is of greatest significance since it has the highest value. Therefore, to one significant figure 16.7 is rounded to 20 as it is nearer to 20 than it is to 10 and, implicitly the other digits become zero as they are not significant. For numbers less than one, such as 0.65 it is the 6 which is most significant since the zeros have no value and cannot therefore be of significance. Use a number line to discuss at which point a number us rounded up or down by considering the midpoint, e.g., 0.65 becomes 0.7 by definition we round up when it is exactly halfway between the two values. After demonstrating the problems on the second slide use the interactive Excel file for additional practise. Students should then be able to work through the problems on the third slide independently. Feedback solutions throughout to maintain pace. An alternative consolidation task could be to complete the tarsia puzzle in additional resources. Plenary The plenary is intended to provide an application for the skill of rounding to a significant figure. Have the class round each number to one significant figure then evaluate the calculation on mini-whiteboards for assessment and feedback. Differentiation More able: Students could determine the limits of accuracy for numbers rounded to a significant figure. Less Able Students may need to use the place value table throughout to develop their mental methods. Resources: Mini-whiteboards Interactive Excel File Tarsia Activity